It's gonna be May

Plus your thoughts on McDonald's, and the Spruce Kings show home winner is... kind of a genius?

May 01, 2023

Welcome to May. Hope you enjoyed the beautiful weather this weekend. Saturday broke a 101-year-old temperature record and it looks like the odds are good for a few more records to fall in the week ahead.

cupsoftimhortons

A post shared by Tyler Haiste (@cupsoftimhortons)

The community-wide cleanup was this weekend so there should be a lot less of the above heading into the warmer weather.

Here’s a sure sign of spring:

Playing the right odds

A man who lives in Nanaimo is the winner of the Prince George Spruce Kings Show Home (the event where tickets to a new, big house are raffled off in support of charity). Why is a person from Nanaimo winning in Prince George? It’s actually pretty clever:

“I’ve always supported the minor charities and minor sports or the Rotary Club or Knights of Columbus. I’d rather put it (my money) towards those types of lotteries as opposed to going into a casino. Your odds are better to win something like that than the 6/49.”

Taking notes.

Your thoughts on McDonald’s

My post Friday on the new McDonald’s in my neighbourhood sparked some good feedback. In the comments, Kat Louro writes:

The Hart McDonald's has become a bit of a third place for us with our toddler along with the Nechako Library Branch. Great place to grab a bite and then visit with local parents in the play place. Am I sad that a multinational conglomerate is our default community space? Of course, but there aren't many alternatives during the winter, and McDonald's is one of the few restaurant experiences that is welcoming, and sort of built for, very young children.

Similar sentiment from Audrey McKinnon on Instagram, as well as Baily Bouwman writes, “My husband was adamant against McDonald and the power it could have as a third place was exactly why I thought we needed it.”

I also got some unexpected feedback from professor and New York Times columnist Tressie McMillan Cottom over on the hot new social media site Bluesky, when she riffed on my post about her own recent experience with the chain.

I was in West Bumblefuck, VA recently — an attitude as much as a place — and stoped at McD. I hadn’t been in a rural McD in awhile. My elder family members are dying off, so down home visits get rarer. Anyway, it was the most place place I’ve been to in a long while. Don’t turn up your nose. The cashier delivered an old man’s coffee to his table. He was clearly a regular. I made small talk with an old whites woman who liked my coat, for god’s sake. I don’t small talk! You can’t buy this in most hipster places.

Look into his eyes

This came up in my Facebook memories and I have to share it with you:

This was the inspiration for my very dumb “Bad Pun Mr. PG” series I ran on Tumblr.

Simpler times.

Quick news:

As previously mentioned, the first ever Canadian Rights Tribunal hearing to be held outside of Ottawa begins today in Burns Lake. It’s a discrimination case against the Prince George RCMP alleging the force mishandled their investigation into the historic complaint of physical and sexual abuse at Immaculata Day School.
A Prince George mom has filed a complaint with Northern Health after her adult son suffering from a mental health crisis was kept in the emergency ward at University Hospital of Northern B.C. for more than five days with no treatment.
Prince George photographer selected for national exhibit.
The new council for Lheidli T’enneh has been sworn in.
The Citizen continues to make good use of Freedom of Information requests, this time looking into the construction — and now lack of it — of the student housing building that was supposed to be built by the HUB Collective on Ospika.
“Police on the scene declined to provide details, however, bullet holes was evident in one of the cars on the lot of the Kia dealership at the corner of 20th Avenue and Highway 16.”
Jobs skill training is now available for mill tradespeople and technicians who want to start their own businesses.
A Prince George-based trucking firm has been selected to conduct training to produce more truck drivers for northern B.C. through an initiative funded by the provincial government.
After ten months without a contract, workers at Ramada Prince George have voted 87 per cent in favour of strike action.
Money for arts groups.
A man was fined $21K for building an illegal bike jump in Yoho National Park and police just wanna talk to whoever parachuted off the Kisktinaw Bridge near Dawson Creek. Felt like you should know.
Also, there’s no such thing as the Taylor Bridge, apparently.
Choir members in Prince George reconnect after 60 years.
Dreamcatcher artist shares culture and knowledge.

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Ignacio

May 2, 2023

Honestly, I think McDonald's has done a great job of branding themselves in a way that transcends social divisions. That's why it works as a third space. You can't assume too much about someone's education level, political beliefs, or income because they're at McDonalds.

What other business has succeeded in appealing to market segments that seem so diametrically opposed? It's affordable, clean, and unpresumptuous. And yet their interior design holds its own against more pretentious establishments. Their marketing strategy isn't overly moralistic, but there's enough there to soothe a progressive's conscience. Sure, they sell "ethically sourced frog friendly coffee" but do we really believe a global fast food conglomerate is unquestionably virtuous?

All I know is I can sip on a cappuccino while munching on fries I've stolen from my daughter's happy meal. I'm a pretentious middle-aged hipster and a down to earth blue collar plebe. I'm lovin' it.

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